Sport in Literature is a study of sport as portrayed through short stories,
poems, essays, and works of fiction/non-fiction whose central focus is
sport. The principal aim of the course is to
examine the nature and development of sport through a variety of literary
sources. A secondary
objective of the course is to develop critical thinking and feeling skills about
the role and significance of sport in societies and cultures. Literature
is a truth about the human condition, not the truth (how can we know the
difference?)

Texts:

Through the Smoky End Boards:Canadian Poetry About Sports and Games.
By Kevin and Sean Brooks, Editors. Polestar, pbk $16.95 (not used last
year), 1996

That Sign of Perfection: From Bandy Legs to Beer Legs: Poems and Stories
on the Game of Hockey. By John B Lee, editor. Black Moss Press, pbk $16.95
(not used last year), 1995.

Golf in the Kingdom. By Michael Murphy, Penguin Arkana, pbk. $15.99, 1994.
(not used last year)

The Black Bonspiel of Willie MacCrimmon. By W.O. Mitchell, McLelland and
Stewart, $18.00 (?might be in pbk and cheaper), 1993 (not used last year).

A River Runs Through It. By Norman MacLean, Pocket-Simon and Schuster, pbk.
$6.99, 1992 (not used last year)

**There may be different editions of these books; however, in class, these
are the editions to which I will be referring in terms of page numbers
etc.

Class Format and Expectations:

This course is more akin to an English course in style of
presentation of material and there is a lot of reading material that must
be completed during the course; it is impossible to cram for the final
exam. Literature of any kind is about the human condition expressed in
written form. Thus, unlike conventional science or fact-based courses,
there are no "wrong" points of view or interpretations or answers. Even
though class size may be larger than optimum, the format will be
discussion-based and you will have to talk. My expectation is that each
student has read the material assigned before the class; discussion and
analysis proceeds from that assumption.

Assignments and Grading:

Film Analysis (15%): Analyze a quality film, of your choice, pertaining to
sport or a sport
theme. Your selection must be approved by me. Guidelines will be
distributed in class.
Due: Friday January 24, 1997.

Group Analysis of Lee's That Sign of Perfection (25%). In goups of 2, you
will be asked to
devise a method of analysis to interpret Lee's collection of sporting
poetry and to submit a
written report detailing your analysis.
Due: Thursday March 27, 1997.

Final Examination (40%): Essay format written during the final exam period.

Course Themes:

We will be discussing sport literature in terms of broad themes
rather than by literary genre. Readings for each section will be
delineated well in advance of each topical area: